CT: In Which CT Reaches Peak-Nerdiness
Happy Friday, y'all!
So as Caitlin and I were sitting on the couch the other night, trying to decide what to watch, we tripped across George Melies' A Trip To The Moon. I, of course, burst into delighted song because (and this is said without any irony), that's one of my favorite movies.
"Oooooo Cait, have you seen this?!!?" I asked, barely registering Caitlin's blank and unimpressed look in all of my excitement. "It was revolutionary! Melies was working with literally some of the first film cameras and still managed to tell a full science fiction story. I mean, just the special effects alone are worth the watch because it's 2015 and I'm not sure I could pull off what he..."
But by then, Caitlin was faceplanted in the couch, snoring "adorably".
Needless to say, I think we wound up watching Scrubs. However, the whole experience reminded me of how much I really value my film education and the early films I love because of it. I know that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea (looking at you, Little C, as you have probably already passed back out). But I'm going to go ahead and hit peak nerdiness here and give you a few of my very favorite films from early film history and tell you a little bit about why I love them. For those of you I'm losing here, I'll see you again on Monday with a more modern Movie Crush, promise.
So here we go, in chronological order because otherwise I'll make myself crazy trying to rank these (spoiler: it's not possible).
Workers Leaving The Lumiere Factory - 1895
This one, I'm pretty sure is just magical. Okay, wait, hear me out. I know it doesn't look like much- a little 2 minute clip of literally, workers leaving a factory. But imagine your movie-going experience now: You buy a ticket, sit with an audience in a public place, and a movie is shown on a screen. This is, by all accounts, the very first movie that was ever shown that way.
In December 1895, the Lumiere brothers birthed cinema as we know it, showing 10 shorts that night beginning with Workers Leaving The Lumiere Factory. Everything I love about this crazy art form follows that night. I honestly get a little emotional thinking about it (shocking no one).
La Fee Aux Chaux - 1896
Yeah yeah yeah, it means The Cabbage Fairy. It's a reference to an old folk tale about babies being born out of cabbages (the past was a weird time, guys).
This one was the first film made by Alice Guy Blache, and LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT ALICE GUY BLACHE. Alice is widely considered the first female director, which is amazing and makes her my hero all by itself but her story actually gets cooler than that. She started at Gaumont Paris, which was a still photography company. She was invited to a private demonstration of the Lumiere Brother's film camera and fell in love immediately. By 1905 she was the production director at Gaumont, and she made more than 1,000 short films in her career.
A Trip To The Moon - 1902
Ah, yes, the one that started it all (this time at least). If you've been around these parts for a while you know that nothing makes Cait and I happier than some science fiction/fantasy. And Melies was a pioneer in sci-fi filmmaking.
Both A Trip To The Moon and The Impossible Voyage (made a couple of years later) have this fantastic, Jules Verne-esque vibe to them. They're fantastical and it really is astounding what special effects Melies was able to pull off. It helps that he was an illusionist, and he really brought that skill out in his films. The sets, the costumes, the way he used in-camera editing techniques all built out this incredible world for his stories.
Sherlock Jr. - 1924
Let me just say that Buster Keaton is my jam. First of all, he understood physical comedy in a way that I think we hardly see at all in movies lately. He just GOT it, the idea that you could tell a complete joke without saying a word. Second, the man was insane in the best possible way. He achieved stunts that make action films now look incredibly tame. I have no clue how Keaton wasn't killed immediately, but he managed to create some of the most iconic, hysterical, and amazing film moments.
This is a short film that's very much about movies and storytelling as a whole. I've seen it so many times, talked about it with so many different people and I never get tired of it.
Okay, okay, that's probably all the obscure film history we can handle here. But friends, there are so many more. If you ever want to take a long leap down the rabbit hole on silent film, give me a jingle. I can make you a comprehensive list. I will watch them with you, for that matter. Because I freaking love them all, like a gigantic nerd.
Happy watching!
CT
So as Caitlin and I were sitting on the couch the other night, trying to decide what to watch, we tripped across George Melies' A Trip To The Moon. I, of course, burst into delighted song because (and this is said without any irony), that's one of my favorite movies.
"Oooooo Cait, have you seen this?!!?" I asked, barely registering Caitlin's blank and unimpressed look in all of my excitement. "It was revolutionary! Melies was working with literally some of the first film cameras and still managed to tell a full science fiction story. I mean, just the special effects alone are worth the watch because it's 2015 and I'm not sure I could pull off what he..."
But by then, Caitlin was faceplanted in the couch, snoring "adorably".
 |
| Little C's feelings about early silent film. |
Needless to say, I think we wound up watching Scrubs. However, the whole experience reminded me of how much I really value my film education and the early films I love because of it. I know that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea (looking at you, Little C, as you have probably already passed back out). But I'm going to go ahead and hit peak nerdiness here and give you a few of my very favorite films from early film history and tell you a little bit about why I love them. For those of you I'm losing here, I'll see you again on Monday with a more modern Movie Crush, promise.
So here we go, in chronological order because otherwise I'll make myself crazy trying to rank these (spoiler: it's not possible).
Workers Leaving The Lumiere Factory - 1895
This one, I'm pretty sure is just magical. Okay, wait, hear me out. I know it doesn't look like much- a little 2 minute clip of literally, workers leaving a factory. But imagine your movie-going experience now: You buy a ticket, sit with an audience in a public place, and a movie is shown on a screen. This is, by all accounts, the very first movie that was ever shown that way.
In December 1895, the Lumiere brothers birthed cinema as we know it, showing 10 shorts that night beginning with Workers Leaving The Lumiere Factory. Everything I love about this crazy art form follows that night. I honestly get a little emotional thinking about it (shocking no one).
La Fee Aux Chaux - 1896
Yeah yeah yeah, it means The Cabbage Fairy. It's a reference to an old folk tale about babies being born out of cabbages (the past was a weird time, guys).
This one was the first film made by Alice Guy Blache, and LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT ALICE GUY BLACHE. Alice is widely considered the first female director, which is amazing and makes her my hero all by itself but her story actually gets cooler than that. She started at Gaumont Paris, which was a still photography company. She was invited to a private demonstration of the Lumiere Brother's film camera and fell in love immediately. By 1905 she was the production director at Gaumont, and she made more than 1,000 short films in her career.
A Trip To The Moon - 1902
Ah, yes, the one that started it all (this time at least). If you've been around these parts for a while you know that nothing makes Cait and I happier than some science fiction/fantasy. And Melies was a pioneer in sci-fi filmmaking.
Both A Trip To The Moon and The Impossible Voyage (made a couple of years later) have this fantastic, Jules Verne-esque vibe to them. They're fantastical and it really is astounding what special effects Melies was able to pull off. It helps that he was an illusionist, and he really brought that skill out in his films. The sets, the costumes, the way he used in-camera editing techniques all built out this incredible world for his stories.
Sherlock Jr. - 1924
Let me just say that Buster Keaton is my jam. First of all, he understood physical comedy in a way that I think we hardly see at all in movies lately. He just GOT it, the idea that you could tell a complete joke without saying a word. Second, the man was insane in the best possible way. He achieved stunts that make action films now look incredibly tame. I have no clue how Keaton wasn't killed immediately, but he managed to create some of the most iconic, hysterical, and amazing film moments.
This is a short film that's very much about movies and storytelling as a whole. I've seen it so many times, talked about it with so many different people and I never get tired of it.
Okay, okay, that's probably all the obscure film history we can handle here. But friends, there are so many more. If you ever want to take a long leap down the rabbit hole on silent film, give me a jingle. I can make you a comprehensive list. I will watch them with you, for that matter. Because I freaking love them all, like a gigantic nerd.
Happy watching!
CT
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